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Hand-Lettered Mini Chalkboard Planters

Today I’m showing you how to add some greenery to your home in the form of these cute hand-lettered mini chalkboard planters. You can plant any type of plant you wish, but cacti and succulents would be my choice!

Hand lettered mini chalkboard planters

Hand-Lettered Mini Chalkboard Planters

Hey there, It’s Amanda from Domestically Creative back again with another simple DIY project. Today we’re making these adorable hand-lettered mini chalkboard pots! I’m including two different methods for making these planters. This project is intended for indoor use, but I’ll include steps to use (and materials) for outdoor use as well. It may seem like a silly thing to state, but chalkboard paint and chalk marker will fade, crack, and peel when exposed to the elements. You may be thinking to yourself, why even use chalkboard paint and marker, to begin with? Well, the whole point of a chalkboard is that you can change it! Let me show you how to make your own hand-lettered mini chalkboard planters.

3 hand lettered chalkboard planters with various succulents and cacti

Materials:

(I’ve included affiliate links for your convenience. I earn a small percentage from a purchase using these links. There is no additional cost to you. You can read more about affiliate links here.)

Instructions:

Step 1. Cleaning terracotta pots

Before painting each terracotta pot, it’s essential to clean them well. Just use soap and water and rinse. Let the clay pots dry completely before moving on to the next step.

freshly washed terracotta pots ready for paint

Step 2. Painting terracotta pots

Give the outside of each pot 2-3 coats of chalkboard paint, letting it dry in between coats. If the surface feels rough to the touch, lightly sand with 320 grit sandpaper in between coats. Don’t paint the inside of the pot.

chalkboard paint clay pots

Step 3. Prep the chalkboard surface

This step may not seem important, but it is! If you ever want to change up your chalkboard designs or lettering then you always want to season a new chalkboard surface before use. To do this, take a piece of chalk (using the side of the chalk), cover the entire surface in chalk.

prepping chalkboard pot surface with chalk

Wipe the chalk off with an eraser or a dry cloth. You’ll be left with a surface that looks like it’s been used! This helps prevent ghosting, which is what happens when you erase chalk or chalk marker and are left with an outline of what was there.

prepped chalkboard surface of pots

Step 4. Personalize with chalk marker

Now it’s time to have some fun! Practice your hand-lettering skills with a chalk marker and personalize the pots however you wish! These pots feature the words “grow”, “stay alive”, and “don’t succ” since I knew I’d be planting cacti and succulents.

lettering "grow" on chalkboard planter

Tips for hand lettering:

Practice on a piece of paper first to get the size and layout just right. Pick the marker up after each stroke of the letter, which is a different concept than what you learn with cursive. If desired, go back in and thicken up the downstrokes to create a brush lettered look!

If you are interested in learning more about hand-lettering, check out my blog Designs by Amanda Kay for free practice sheets and tutorials!

hand lettered pots finished

Step 5. Plant!

If you are going to be planting succulents or cacti in your mini chalkboard pots, be sure to use an appropriate potting soil! Fill about 3/4 of the way up with soil, tuck in each plant, and then fill in with soil around the roots. Water lightly and place them in a sunny area in your home.

top down view of succulent in planter on decorative plate

Using These Chalkboard Pots Outdoors?

The steps will be similar, but the products used will vary. First, you’ll want to choose an outdoor acrylic paint instead of chalkboard paint. Outdoor acrylic will hold up to weather better, and won’t fade when sealed. There will be no need to prep the surface with chalk, so just skip that step! Use an oil-based paint marker for lettering (water-based markers or chalk markers will fade in the sun or run in the rain).

One important extra step is applying a sealant. Using a polycrylic top coat will protect the paint from cracking, chipping, and fading in the sun. Keep in mind that the terracotta pots will lose their moisture-wicking capabilities when painted and sealed.

close up of stay alive planter with cactus

My mini chalkboard planters live in my office where the plants get plenty of light throughout the day! Plus they add a nice touch of greenery to my creative space.

mini chalkboard pots in craft room

What part of your home could use a set of these hand-lettered chalkboard planters?

Love this tutorial? Don’t forget to pin for later!

I’m Amanda, and I am the creator and voice behind the food and DIY blog, Domestically Creative. What started as a place to share updates with friends and family after we moved from Illinois to Tennessee and then to Texas, turned into a passion for finding creative and frugal ways to feed us and decorate our homes.

I have always had the “make it myself” attitude and I’m not afraid to bust out the power tools or get creative when it comes to decorating our home on a budget. You can usually find me scouring the local thrift stores, garage sales and estate sales looking for my next makeover (like this litter box cabinet), or dreaming up ways to make our new house feel more like home. My most recent project was giving my home office a much needed facelift. Some of the plans included creating a fun inspirational accent wall and adding pegboard to store my craft hoards.

I currently call Missouri home, where I live with my husband, dog, and 2 cats in a pretty dull, late 90’s split level. My husband and I both love to travel the U.S and recently purchased a small travel trailer to tag along in our journeys. In our free time together we can usually be found working together on a home project, exploring a new place, or just lounging with our pup, Delilah.

I’d love for you to connect with me on social media via Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter!

See all of Amanda’s tutorials HERE.

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